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For the sheer love…

I have never sat through an entire game.. by game I mean a sports event, until I fell in love with a sports lover. It was for the sheer love of.. that I sat through soccer matches, swimming tournaments, tennis championships and well even gymnastics.. but it wasn’t until the Australian Open men’s final yesterday that I truly was moved by the passion and the force of sports and sportsmanship. I never really understood the passion and the personal commitment that one felt when cheering for one’s team or the sportsman one supported.. the nail biting stress of every serve and every goal that was attempted.. the heart bursting pride to see one’s supporting team/player win and lift the trophy high.. I never did until the match yesterday where Roger Federer won the championship for the 18th time and we all jumped up from our seats and hugged out the victory. It didn’t matter that dinner had been forgotten or that next morning was lined up with meetings from the word go.. all that mattered was he had won..

There are various kinds of victories and supports and fan fare, but in my experience this skin deep attachment can be found in no other kind.. It is after all the for the sheer love of the game.. When I saw the sheen of pain in Nadal’s face on the final point break serve and the joy on Federer’s face on the realisation that he has done it once again, I could understand the saying the “pain of success” for only through the journey of trails and pain can someone tap into joy of that kind.. In his presentation ceremony Federer talked about feeling empty and happy that the final ball for the championship had been served and how he feels he would have been happy with a draw as well.. When I heard that all I could think of was how important it was to play for the game itself and not just for winning.. for the sheer love… nothing could be more compelling..

After the win there were hashtags of success, comeback and of never giving up and people around the world celebrating his pain of success; for me this has been a reminder to do things for the sheer love of… I have always loved the written word, books, bookshops, cafes and the world that all of this belongs to has been very precious.. but somehow i had forgotten the importance of doing things for the sheer love of it and not for any destination.. the joy that one can tap into when doing what they love cannot be replaced by any other.. so after all these years of writing and attempting to write, I have finally decided to write…. for the sheer love of it with no other destination in mind… so thank you Federer for reminding me.. for the sheer love…